Staffers scramble on heating alerts
Heading quickly through the heart of the Chinatown International District on Tuesday, health worker Meredith Li-Vollmer carried a satchel full of fliers to warn that the life-threatening aftermath of last week's storm isn't over.
"We want to get information out about carbon-monoxide poisoning," she told June Poon, behind the counter of the Yummy House Bakery on Sixth Avenue. "People have died ... We wonder if you would post this on your window."
Poon agreed, and a green flier in Chinese was quickly taped to the door of the shop.
Li-Vollmer is one of hundreds of health and government workers, business owners and community leaders trying to stop the tide of deaths and serious illness stemming from the fumes of charcoal grills and gas-powered generators used to heat homes without electricity. Most of those affected do not speak English or don't use mainstream media for information.
Weather forecasters say another front moving in today could boost winds to 20 to 30 mph in some areas. Utility companies worry the renewed winds could topple weakened trees, causing more power outages or delaying repairs on systems already disabled.
More than 200 people have been sickened from carbon-monoxide poisoning or asphyxiated by fumes since Thursday night, including at least seven who have died. At Harborview Medical Center, where scores have been treated, more than 90 percent did not speak English.
"How do we reach such vulnerable populations [quickly]? This is the first time we've had to test this," said Dorothy Teeter, interim director of Public Health — Seattle & King County.
Teeter said the department is seeking more ideas about how to reach those who don't speak English or don't use mainstream media.
Public Health first heard from Harborview late Friday that dozens with carbon-monoxide poisoning were being treated in the emergency room. It was "numbers unlike anything they had ever seen," said James Apa, communications director for Public Health.
Harborview doctors urged patients to warn others in their communities. And early Saturday morning, a frantic public-health outreach effort began.
Some Public Health workers went through Burien and Rainier Valley handing out fliers. Others contacted hundreds of community organizations, immigrant associations, government agencies, health clinics and community leaders. Foreign-language radio stations also were alerted.
"We were using all of our community partners and anyone else who came to mind," Teeter said.
Now the workers are passing out fliers to stores that sell generators and charcoal grills and heaters. And some are going door to door.
Lester Tran, a city of Seattle social worker, knocked on doors Tuesday at Barton Place, a low-income high rise on Rainier Avenue South, trying to spread the word. One resident, he said, was still not aware that a charcoal grill inside could kill because he had cooked with charcoal in his native Vietnam.
"I explained that he had ventilation there, unlike the airtight houses here," Tran said.
Teeter said Public Health has issued a requirement that carbon-monoxide poisoning be reported to the department by health providers, so cases can be tracked and more warnings issued to specific areas.
"There is a tremendous sense of accountability," she said. "We have to feel like we have left absolutely no stone unturned. We've pulled out all the stops. But we continue to seek ideas."
Warren King: 206-464-2247 or wking@seattletimes.com
DO buy carbon-monoxide detectors that use batteries or battery backup. Place near sleeping areas.
DO evacuate your home and call 911 if your carbon-monoxide detector sounds.
DO have your furnace, water heater and other gas-, oil- or coal-burning appliances serviced every year. These appliances emit carbon monoxide.
DON'T use a generator, charcoal grill, camp stove or gasoline-burning device inside your home, garage or basement, even near an open window or door.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control; Colorado Springs Utilities